News

Police Arrest Alleged Hitman for Cold-Blooded Murder of Law Professor

Image by florida state university

By Josh Nathan-Kazis May 26, 2016

Florida police have arrested a man suspected of the murder of Dan Markel, a Jewish law professor who was shot in his Tallahassee driveway in 2014.

Authorities arrested Sigfredo Garcia, 34, at a Miami-area gas station on May 25, and charged him with first-degree murder.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported May 26 that Markel’s death is being investigated as a murder for hire, and that law enforcement officials expect to make further arrests in the case.

The Tallahassee Police Department said in a statement that they had investigated and vetted hundreds of leads on the case that came in through a telephone hotline.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with other state and federal agencies, assisted in the department’s effort.

“This is still an active criminal investigation,” said the chief of the Tallahassee Police Department, Michael DeLeo, in a statement. “My heart and prayers are with the Markel family as they continue to grieve for their loss. My only hope is that today’s information will offer some solace to the family and, in some small way, help them to heal.”

Markel was a well-known legal scholar at Florida State University. He was prominent in online legal circles as a founder of the website PrawfsBlog, and was an active member of a Conservative Jewish congregation in Tallahassee.

In the wake of the murder, police investigated vitriolic online comments targeting Markel on a number of blogs.

A memorial fund honoring Markel raised $54,000 for the benefit of his two young sons.

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO